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Jackey Locke

������Ƶ is playing a major role in helping students, post-doctoral fellows and researchers transform their ideas into commercialized innovations.

The university is a key collaborator on two of four nationally funded programs aimed at supporting entrepreneurially minded students: , led by Dalhousie University; and the , led by Simon Fraser University.

Students enrolled in the programs will receive the tools, resources, hands-on support and expertise to develop entrepreneurial skills and find ways to help them commercialize their research inventions.

The total funding across both programs over five years is over $54 million.

Dr. Carlos Bazan is the associate dean (graduate programs and research) and an associate professor, technology entrepreneurship, in the Faculty of Business Administration. He is also the academic lead for the Atlantic cohort for the i2I program.

“This is a monumental step forward in addressing Canada’s innovation paradox,” he said. “Despite our world-class public research and post-secondary education, we have historically faced challenges translating our strengths into commercial successes. Through these networks, we’re changing the narrative and empowering our students, researchers and innovators to thrive in the knowledge economy.”

National programs

Hosted by ������Ƶ’s Research Innovation Office,  provides ocean researchers with opportunities to work closely with highly skilled mentors in the oceans sector.

The program is part of the , which is funded by Canada’s Ocean Supercluster and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

Lab2Market Oceans is part of the national Lab2Market network, which includes more than 150 partners and collaborators and more than 50 universities, colleges and research hospitals.

“These programs have had, and will continue to have, a lasting impact on Canada’s innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem.”— Angela Avery

The program offers funding, workshops, mentorship and hands-on customer discovery. Participants receive a Mitacs Business Strategy Internship stipend valued at $15,000. They also gain the skills, resources and connections needed to validate their technology and successfully navigate commercialization.

The i2I program for Atlantic Canada, hosted by the Research Innovation Office and Dal Innovates, was created to unlock the entrepreneurial mindset and build innovation skills in various individuals and systems required to move Canada’s innovation system forward and increase the national innovation capacity.

Students can access a variety of programs, including the Skills Training Program and the new i2I Commercialization Post-doctoral Program.

. This part-time, mainly asynchronous virtual program is sponsored by Mitacs and NSERC and generously covers program fees for participants and a $3,000 fellowship.

Angela Avery is the Research Innovation Office’s acting director of innovation and entrepreneurship. She looks forward to the transformative impact these programs continue to have on ������Ƶ University students and on the university as a whole.

“These programs have had, and will continue to have, a lasting impact on Canada’s innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem, providing graduate students and researchers with opportunities to explore pathways towards commercialization and research-led innovation,” she said.

The Research Innovation Office is supported in part by the Government of Canada’s , an important source of funding support that helps post-secondary institutions with costs associated with managing their research enterprises.

Learn more about research at ������Ƶ and check out Research Strategy 2023-28 to learn how we’re moving ideas forward.